Lithium batteries are currently the most efficient, cleanest and most practical solution for powering electric vehicles and electronic devices, as well as storing wind and solar energy.

However, conventional methods of lithium mining cause significant damage to the earth’s natural resources. For example, extracting just one ton of lithium requires two million liters of water and releases thousands of pounds of CO.₂ into the atmosphere.

In addition, the harsh chemicals used in this process (such as hydrochloric acid, sodium carbonate, etc.) ultimately pollute water and soil.

ElectraLith, a startup backed by researchers at Monash University, has found a solution to this problem. They have developed Direct Lithium Extraction and Refining (DLE-R), a technology that enables the extraction of lithium from brines without the use of water and harmful chemicals.

“Our state-of-the-art DLE-R technology revolutionizes direct lithium extraction (DLE) and refining processes by extracting and producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide in a single, scalable and modular step that requires no water or chemicals and is powered entirely by renewable energy,” the ElectraLith team states.

How DLE-R works

Lithium extraction companies currently use evaporative mining. This approach involves pumping brine into large pools of water. Once the brine is added, the water is allowed to evaporate, leaving behind lithium salts.

The next step is to refine the lithium using chemicals such as HCl. The purified lithium is then sent to battery manufacturers who combine it with various chemicals and develop lithium-ion battery packs. This process uses a lot of water, releases harmful chemicals, and is often powered by fossil fuels.

DLE-R, on the other hand, uses neither water nor evaporation. Lithium-rich brine is pumped directly to the surface, where special membranes are used to selectively absorb lithium ions from the brine. The extracted lithium is then purified and converted into battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

The entire process is powered by renewable energy and does not require the use of harmful chemicals.

“This technology can produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide from a range of lithium sources, including salar brine, geothermal oilfield brine and spodumene brine at sites in the United States, Argentina and Australia,” the researchers said.

Testing DLE-R in real environments

In the past, scientists and companies have also proposed techniques to make lithium mining sustainable, but most of these methods are still limited to laboratory settings.

Fortunately, this is not the case with DLE-R. The ElectraLith team has tested their DLE-R membranes for lithium extraction at some real-world sites.

For example, they claim that in the Paradox Basin in the US state of Utah, they were able to produce “99.9 percent pure lithium hydroxide from the brines of the Mandrake geothermal oil fields, a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce in the wider Colorado River basin.”

They also produced lithium hydroxide from a brine with a concentration of just 60 ppm. Now they plan to use the same technology to extract lithium in some of the driest areas of the United States.

“We are paving the way for a green future with the cleanest, most versatile and cost-effective method to extract and refine lithium, the foundation of a sustainable future,” said the ElectraLith team.